Family Doesn't end with Blood
by Iris Hanson
Summary: Peter had returned to his "normal" life, and everything was going fine. That is, until the Avengers got mixed up in his life, resulting in consequences he didn't want to deal with. How will Peter cope? What about the Avengers? NO SLASH
1. Chapter 1

**THANK YOU to my wonderful beta, ****Emmalie22! ****She's the best thing that's happened to me on this site! I hope you enjoy this story!**

Peter loved being Spiderman.

The adrenaline, the satisfaction of saving people; nothing in his life seemed to compare to unbelievable feeling of being a superhero. Although, the downside was the people he loved were always at risk to be harmed or worse. That's why his identity really needed to be kept a secret, of course minus the fact that the law would be on his ass. He couldn't risk his remaining family or his girlfriend Gwen.

Peter let these thoughts fly away as he slung through the sky, searching New York for petty crime, his expertise. He respected the Avengers, he really did, but they didn't do anything about low level crime, which separated families every day. Petty crime is what tore Uncle Ben away from Peter and his Aunt May. He'd let the Avengers take care of alien invasions, and other threats on that level. He just wondered where they were when Doctor Conners attacked in full out lizard.

In that situation, if the Avengers had come to the rescue, he still would've stayed to finish the problem. The Lizard was his creation and, for all intents and purpose, his responsibility.

The wailing of sirens captured his attention. Peter changed his course, following the ear rattling noise. It led him to the base of the Avengers' Tower, formerly known as Stark Tower.

A man, smartly dressed as someone who would strike an observer as a mugger, held a young girl, maybe fifteen, at gunpoint. The police surrounded him, all guns held steady. Her backpack was tossed on the ground a few feet over; iPhone and wallet lay near an abundance of bills. As far as Peter could tell, she was no average New Yorker. She was someone with cash waiting at home.

Money or not, Peter felt obliged to save her. With great power, after all, comes great responsibility. Even without his spider abilities, he would take his Uncle's words to the grave with him.

Peter landed on the side of the tower, not to many floors up. He hoped it didn't have many defense mechanisms to outsiders, seeing as the Avengers often resided there. When nothing happened, he continued a slow crawl down the side of the building. The last thing he wanted was to be knocked off the building by some stupid defense, resulting in the life of an innocent young girl. He looked up, half expecting to see the infamous Iron Man fly out to the rescue, and then realized the chances of that happening were one to zero. Besides, he probably had more important things to attend to, like maybe building another suit or new tower. It's not like the life of a teenager directly affected _the_ Tony Stark.

Peter threw the resentment behind him for now. Without the Avengers, everyone would be dead or wishing they were, as they'd be under the rule of aliens. Peter couldn't have done anything; he didn't have any powers at that point. Even if he did, he'd have been able to do about jack shit.

"Hey!" Peter called. "Watcha doing buddy?" The mugger quickly craned his head to look at Spiderman, without leaving his back open to the police. "Didn't you hear it's not nice to pick on girls?"

"Mind your own business, Spidey!" the man retorted. The girl whimpered as he tightened his grip. Peter fumed, quickly thinking of some way to distract the man from hurting the girl further. His first priority was to eliminate the gun from the fight. Peter hated guns and found they generally didn't mean good.

"You know, I hear you live longer the less you mug!" Peter yelled. The man growled, his eyes darting between the police and Peter.

"Stay away!" he yelled. "Stay away or I'll shoot her!" He cocked his gun in assurance.

"Now, now," Peter chided. "Guns are for cowards." Before the man could blink, Peter had the man's gun dangling from his own fingers, after switching the safety off, of course. He stuck it to the tower with his webbing, so it was out of the fight for good. "Tucked nice and out 'a sight," sang Peter.

"I can still break her neck!" he replied. Peter hadn't been expecting that, most thugs at that point tried to run. The man deserved more credit than Peter gave him. Not that that was a good thing, not at all. He ran through his options, one immediately coming to mind. The man's strength had nothing against his webbing, or the speed. He wouldn't be able to process the action quick enough.

With that thought, Peter shot off a quick, efficient string of webbing. It latched itself onto the girl's waist, emitting a yelp from her. Surely, no one had been expecting that. Said girl was quickly in Spiderman's arms, too shocked to have even screamed. It had all happened in a matter of seconds.

The police didn't hesitate any longer, before pouncing on the man. Peter thought it was over and begun sliding down the building, his arms securely around the girl who had begun to mumble a consistent _thank you, thank you, thank you_.

"Just doing my job as your friendly neighborhood Spider-" he was cut off by a sudden bolt of power, throwing him and the girl the remaining two floors down to the ground. Before they hit, he shifted and shot a string of web to an overhang, quickly connecting it to the girl's waist saving her from hitting the ground. During the maneuver, Peter lost his grip and fell the remaining one floor to the ground, but nothing he couldn't handle. (Nothing he hadn't done before.)

The girl shrieked, dangling precariously from nothing but a web. Of course, the web wasn't going anywhere, but it had even taken Peter a while to trust its stability. Groaning as he stood, he searched for the source of the blast. He zeroed in on the mugger, who was laughing in glee, staring at his hands in joy.

"It worked!" he cried, his hands thrumming with a green glow. "It really worked!' he thrust his hands out, nearly hitting the girl, but instead blasting a hole in Avengers' Tower.

"Nice aim, Glow Stick!" Peter called. The man, Glow Stick as Peter himself cleverly decided to call him, whipped around till he was facing Peter. The cops, the mostly uninjured ones, that is, had begun rising to their feet, knocked back from the blow. All of the man's attention zeroed in on Peter, as per his plan. No innocents were dying on his watch; Peter would make sure of that.

'Glow Stick' growled, thrusting his hands towards Peter. He jumped, spider sense tingling, and flipped backwards to avoid the blow. He wasn't going onto the offense until he figured out how to case the guy without causing damage to himself and others, Stark's building not included.

The powerful shots the guy was giving off got worse with everyone he took. They sizzled and crackled with power, but turned into glowing green goo as soon as they hit their target. The man also started to glow, more and more, as he got confident in his abilities.

"You're literally a living, breathing glow stick," Peter taunted, avoiding another blow. He had decided to go with his specialty: webs. He also secretly prayed a cop would clip him, as this guy obviously had no mercy. Peter spared a quick glance at the dangling girl, who had tears running down her face, but still holding steady. She wasn't screaming or calling for help, which was fine so long she was out of harm's way.

Peter shot webbing at the man, hoping it would hold. It did, and the man yelled in frustration, trying to rip it off. He was only making his situation worse, and Peter took that time to shoot off more and more webbing, wrapping him in a cocoon better than a straightjacket.

Peter added a bit more, just to be on the safe side, and ignored the man's furious yelling before climbing up the side of the building to retrieve the girl. Her knuckles were white from clenching the webbing, and she looked fearfully at him.

"Hey," he called. "What's your name?"

"A-Arden," she stuttered.

"Okay Arden," Peter started. "I'm just going to get a hold of you with these," he said, pointing the devices on his wrists. "I've already done it to you twice, but I figured you deserved a warning this time." She nodded, grinning a little. "Okay, ready?" She tensed preparing herself. "1, 2, 3-" he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist as quickly as he could, after shooting off his webbing.

She yelped as Peter slid down the building, as slowly as possible. Once they hit ground, her knees buckled, probably in shock. Peter hefted her up and began walking to the ambulance that had pulled up on scene. A paramedic took her from his hands.

"Spiderman!" she called. Peter turned and raised an eyebrow despite being under the mask. "Thank you so much!" He nodded, waving to the surrounding crowd. He also grinned, but she didn't see that. It felt good helping people.

Peter turned, checking on the Glow Stick dude. He was being rolled into a high security van by people in hazmat suits. Peter tried not to laugh at the scene. A commotion from the hole blasted in the tower caught his attention. He assumed all the remaining cops were there, which was why no one had tried to arrest him yet.

"What the hell happened here?" a man yelled, brandishing to the hole. "I leave for an hour. An hour! And there's hole in the side of my building?" Peter assumed it was Mr. Stark himself. Peter held a lot respect for Tony Stark's studies/hero duties, just not for the man himself. He was arrogant, plain and simple, and Peter who was entirely devoted to Gwen couldn't imagine treating women like he did.

Peter was a young male with hormones, but Tony Stark eclipsed him in the irresponsibility category.

"Excuse me, pardon me," Peter repeated tirelessly as he struggled to get through.

He had ducked behind a building, seconds ago, and changed into civilian clothes, and was now pushing through the group of police and bystanders, watching Stark's outrage. "Sir," he called. "Sir!"

"What do you want kid?" Stark asked, annoyance and condescendence clear in his voice.

Peter huffed. "Well when you were out having a coffee break- " the crowd fell silent, and Peter continued almost baking in the moment, "A super villain attacked. Thankfully, Spiderman was there, and the teenage girl caught in the cross fire is still alive no thanks to any of the Avengers."

No one spook. Finally, Stark demanded. "Who are you?"

"Peter. Peter Parker."

"Well then Peter, this doesn't really involve you now, does it?" Tony leered at him.

"You'd be surprised," Peter retorted. People watched the two go at it, amazed at the kids bravery. "You see, Mr. Stark. There was a battle, between to super beings, no less, at the base of your tower. The Avengers' Tower, that is. Obviously, you won't be there all the time, but what about all the other Avengers?"

"We saved the world kid. We deserve a break."

Great power Tony Stark may have, but he knew nothing about responsibility.

"Doesn't Spiderman deserve a break too? The crime doesn't just go away when you aren't there, you know. And what about that weird lizard attack? Where were you then? Spiderman was there, at least."

"Looks like we have a Spiderman fan. Go home to your parents."

"Sorry Stark, but my parents are dead." Peter deadpanned. Tony looked shocked for a moment, before recovering.

"Sorry kid, that's awful and all, there's nothing I can do about it."

"Yeah," Peter glared. "I know," he replied before turning heel and walking away. He'd be dead when he got home to Aunt May, as she sent him out to get eggs two hours ago.

Tony had JARVIS pull up footage from the fight that had blasted a hole in his tower. He had to admit, Spiderman was good. He was faster than everyone, minus the Hulk and maybe Captain or Thor. Other than Tony, he had the best way with words out of everyone. He was more agile the Natasha, and had quicker reflexes than Clint. He was definitely superhuman.

Not to mention his wrist contraptions. Tony zoomed in on them, and they appeared to be made out of bits and scraps of random things. In other words, homemade. So he must be smart too.

What this Peter Parker said struck home. He had never thought about what happened when the Avengers weren't there, and it bothered him. He knew of New York's crime levels, just never bothered to do anything about it.

"JARVIS," he called. "Pull up everything SHIELD has on Spiderman."

"Yes sir," he Al replied. A few moments later, JARVIS began again. "Would you like me to read it to you?"

"Why not?" Tony replied.

"Spiderman's identity has not been confirmed, although it's been narrowed down to a few possible candidates. He helped to bring down the Lizard, known as Doc. Curt Conners."

Tony blanched at that. He had worked with Conners at one point, and determined he was a good guy. "JARVIS, read me the Spiderman candidates."

"They are as follows; John Hanson, Timothy Hills, Andrew Lee, and Peter Parker."

_Peter Parker_.

**Okay sorry if I made Tony seem like a dick, but I needed a rightful season for Peter to get angry. Also, I feel like Spiderman is vastly underrated in these crossover fics. People always down play him as the little hero, but I think you should watch the Avengers and then Spiderman. Don't get me wrong, I think the Avengers are freaking awesome, and I love them, but Spiderman is very high up there in terms of abilities. So in this story, Peter will be able to play at the Avengers level, maybe higher. **

**If you liked this, I need some reviews to continue. They're my motivation ****J**

**PS this is my first crossover fic. **


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Peter had listened to Aunt May's scolding, Tony Stark had pulled up everything there was on Peter Parker. The kid who had managed to make him feel guilty for doing nothing, and someone SHIELD had labeled as a Spiderman suspect.

SHIELD probably could've figured out who Spiderman was, if they really wanted to, but apparently he wasn't a main concern. Besides, Spiderman had only done good things for the city.

It couldn't be a coincidence that Spiderman had saved the day at the base of his tower, then a few minutes later Peter Parker had shown up defending none other than Spiderman himself. Everything Parker had said was spoken as if it was very personal to him, all the more reason to investigate.

Tony Stark didn't know exactly why he wanted to know who Spiderman was, but part of it was how close Spiderman had hit home. Something the vigilante had done had _directly_ affected him, and Tony's curiosity had gotten the better of him. He wasn't stalking; the term was too blunt and disgusting.

Just, keeping tabs, per say.

When JARVIS pulled up tabs on Parker, Tony had been impressed, as Peter was pretty much top of his class at Midtown Science; a _science_ boy, nonetheless. Despite their argument, Tony thought he could make quick friends with the teen.

On the topic of Parker's more depressing tale; his parents both dead in a mysterious plane crash, raised by his aunt and uncle, until his uncle was shot by a robber. If he really was Spiderman, that would explain the personal vendetta towards petty crime.

That brought up the spider powers, and there were a few conclusions that Tony immediately thought of. He was born with them, and didn't act on them until his Uncle's death. (Or just ignored/didn't know about them until then.)

Maybe he had them all along, but something triggered them. His last palpable idea was that they had been recently developed from some sort of experiment or what-not.

Tony knew how to find evidence to back up some of his propositions (despite what the general public frequently forgot, he had taken Stark industries from a regular successful company to a multibillion dollar company that practically dominated the market; research was _easy_) , and decided to start with the first one. He looked up the birth records for Peter Parker, and searched for any complications during birth. There might not necessarily have been any, but if there was, it could easily stem back to mutant powers.

There weren't any, so then Tony decided to look further into Peter's health history. He was searching for any abnormal doctor discoveries or odd trips to the hospital. All Tony found was a broken leg and a case of swine flu.

Digging deeper, he pulled up juvenile records. Peter Parker had a clean slate, minus one small infraction. A while ago he had jumped into a tour at Oscorp with someone else's ID card.

Seeing as nothing was _documented_ in Peter's history that led Tony to believe that Peter had always had his abilities, he moved onto the next theory; something had triggered his dormant powers. (Assumedly being his Uncle's death.)

That got Tony thinking. Most vigilantes were vigilantes because they thought the law wasn't enough. Every hero also had a back story, or reason to do what they do. If Peter was Spiderman, there was no reason for him to be any different.

"JARVIS, tell me the details of Ben Parker's death."

"Sir, Ben Parker was shot in attempt to stop an armed robbery. He bled to death on the sidewalk, his nephew Peter Parker the only one there for his time of passing. The suspect was described to have shoulder length blonde hair, and a star tattoo on his wrist. He was never brought in for questioning."

"That's enough JARVIS. Bring up Spiderman's record of whoever he brought in, preferably around the time when he first showed up."

"He was shown to go after men with shoulder length blonde hair. If there were any witnesses, they reported Spiderman having checked wrists of the criminal," JARVIS informed.

"Okay, that's just too much of a coincidence," Tony spoke to himself. He was interrupted from his thoughts as his "science bro," Bruce, walked in. "Hey green guy!"

"Can I help you, Tony?" Bruce replied, not really paying attention. He continued to sit down with his coffee and newspaper.

"A newspaper Bruce, really? Who reads newspapers nowadays? Minus Rogers, of course. He's old," Tony drawled out the word, skipping over the fact that he was twice Roger's physical age.

"Mhm," was Bruce's reply.

"Are you even listening?" Tony questioned.

"That's fascinating Tony, really."

"You aren't listening," Tony stated flippantly. "Fine, I'll keep my Spiderman theories to myself then."

"So Spiderman, that's your new toy?" Bruce asked, slowly putting down his paper and turning to look Tony in the eye. His glasses slid slightly down his nose, but they only added to disapproving professor image.

"So you_ are _listening?" Tony pointed out.

"Selective hearing, Tony. Selective hearing."

Tony scoffed. "I've been researching-"

"As usual," Bruce interjected. Tony glared, but continued.

"I've been looking into Spiderman. I don't know if you saw the gaping hole in the Tower, but there was a Spiderman fight there with some weird super charged villain who caused said hole. Speaking of which, I should probably get someone working on that. We don't need to make security breaches easy for SHEILD."

Bruce ignored Tony's rant, focusing more on the Spiderman obsession. "Tony, just leave Spiderman alone. If he wanted people to know his identity, he'd have revealed it."

"But I'm not 'people.' We're not just people! Better us than SHIELD, because you know they'll look into it. Besides, they actually already have, that's how I found the name Peter Parker. Other options are _feasible_, but he was my first guess and the facts point to him."

"Even if that was reasonable, what makes you so sure it's this Peter Parker?" Bruce points out. Tony grinned, already having compiled his finds into a file. He brought it up on the glass coffee table Bruce had set his morning beverage on.

Bruce, unfazed, scrolled through Tony's findings. Tony could tell he was genuinely interested, but wasn't going to let him know.

Tony grinned like a kid on Christmas morning; he already started to run through plans in his head. Disastrous, exploding, brilliant plans that would no doubt find him on the receiving end of one of Pepper's rants.

He would deal with it when it came.

"If that doesn't catch your interest, look at this." Tony had pulled up some up Peter's academic records and accomplishments, and noticed an essay he had sent into a science newspaper. It hadn't been published, but he was sure Bruce would be flattered. Flattered enough, hopefully, to give the idea that had started brewing in Tony's head some thought.

Tony pulled the essay up onto the table for Bruce to see, watching as his eyes lit up.

"He wrote a compare and contrast essay on cross species _and_ gamma radiation, with valid information that would not be out of place in a _science journal_? I like this kid," Bruce said. Tony grinned, knowing he had caught his science pal's interest. "I have to admit Tony; you have some decent evidence stacked up here. But we can't just confront the kid, this isn't enough."

"That's where you come in," Tony said. Bruce groaned. "You see, take it from me, but this kid doesn't exactly like me."

"You've met him?" Bruce asked, curious.

"Under rather unpleasant circumstances, yes. We got off on the wrong foot, per say. He's not my biggest fan. But, he's obviously a fan of you; he referenced you in that paper of his." Bruce gave him his full attention. "It would be very believable if you said you saw his essay, one way or another. We can sort out details later, but I'm sure Peter Parker would love to work as the personal intern of Bruce Banner."

"What the hell would I do with an intern, Tony?"

"I'm sure you could think of something, after all, it couldn't hurt to have your own personal lab assistant. Parker is smart enough," Tony retorted. Bruce was silent, silently debating the idea.

"I'll think about it," was his answer. Tony figured he could work with that. It was better than nothing.

* * *

"Tony!" a rather pissed Pepper Potts yelled. "What is this?" she asked, pointing to the file of his Spiderman research he had left open on the coffee table from hours earlier. Pepper had arrived home late from a business trip, annoyed by the fact that Tony had, yet again, left his work lying around. Holographic work or not, it was highly angering for her.

"Well you see," Tony started. "I already told you about the Spiderman fight, which made me curious. Who is Spiderman? SHIELD didn't know, they just had suspects. But then I met this kid earlier after the whole explosion thingy and his name was on suspect list and I was just to curious to ignore it and-"

"Stop right there. I don't want to hear it. You said this was a kid?"

"Yeah, his name was-"

"No!" Pepper cried. "I want to respect his decision to keep his identity anonymous. How would you feel if you were unmasked before you wanted everyone to know? If he's just a kid, his identity getting out could ruin his life!"

"But I won't tell anyone!" Tony whined. "Not even SHIELD!"

"No Tony, you stop this obsession now! Spiderman has done nothing but good and he the least he deserves is his identity kept a secret. That's his choice to make, not yours!"

Tony huffed, "Fine." Pepper glared and turned heel, storming to their bedroom. Regardless of whether or not Tony was continuing his investigation, he would make sure Bruce continued his.

* * *

Peter was dozing off as he stared out the window in his AP Biology, fifth period. Sighing in relief as the bell rung, he stood and prepared to leave.

"Peter," his teacher called.

He halted. "Yeah?"

"I've received an internship request for you, specifically."

This caught his attention, and excitement. "Really? Who?"

"Bruce Banner, have you heard of him?"

Peter nearly choked. "Bruce Banner? How'd he hear of me?" Peter asked, his excitement not very well contained.

His teacher continued, "Apparently he saw an essay you'd written on cross species and gamma radiation."

Peter remembered immediately, having been very proud of his work. It hadn't been published sadly, but he had actually enjoyed writing it, nonetheless.

He didn't care of when, or where. He wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like this.

"Can you tell him I say yes? Oh, and pass on my number please," he rattled off his number, wanting to confide in Gwen as quickly as possible. His day was definitely looking up. He turned to leave, but his teacher spoke up.

"Peter, I need to write you a pass."

"Oh yeah," Peter remembered. He didn't remember telling his teacher his destination, didn't care. He was too happy. He, Peter Parker, was going to be working with Bruce Banner. Uncle Ben would be proud.

* * *

"Tony!" Bruce called.

"Hold on!" was Tony's reply. He was neck deep in some experiment or other, and hardly wanted to be deterred.

"Peter accepted," Bruce interjected.

"Accepted what?" Tony asked.

"Really Tony? He accepted the internship, remember?"

"Of course I remember. I just forgot, for like a second. Take that stick outta your ass, Banner."

Bruce rolled his eyes, expecting no less from Tony. Tony: Billionaire, playboy, genius, but terrible memory. He had the attention span of a two year old.

"He starts Monday, by the way. So I expect you to leave me alone in my part of the lab," Bruce demanded.

"No problem," Tony lied. "I'll be sure to stay out of the probably Spiderman's way."

Bruce sighed. Tony was going to be a pain in the ass. That much he was sure of.

**It's a bit short, sorry. But I hope everyone likes it! There will be more action in future chapters, and I'm so happy with all the positive feedback and constructive criticism that I got! Thanks so much guys!**

**Again, Thanks to my awesome beta, Emmalie22! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Well I started high school and it officially sucks. There's nothing spectacular, just more busy work and the impending doom that your grades really do matter at this point. I haven't really had much of a weight, but it was longer than in-between the first two chapters. This, of course, being due to school starting.**

**Thanks to my lovely beta, E****mmalie****! (Her username is in past chapters if you'd like to check her out.) This story wouldn't have made it without her. **

**Also, I'm soooooooooo happy with all the positive attention this story had been getting. Over 40 comments and 90 follows in just two chapters! More than I could've imagined it would ever get! And again, in just two chapters! I'm just so happy with this! The more positive and constructive reviews I get the more incentive I have to write this story. **

**Anyone who writes knows that you aren't always inspired. And sometimes I just don't feel like writing, and then I remember what it feels like to read an un-completed story on Fan Fiction, and I have to write for you guys. Otherwise I'd be a hypocrite. **

**Please enjoy! (And its common knowledge Spiderman isn't mine.)**

* * *

Peter's internship went smoothly. He spent much of his time in the labs with Bruce, and if he was lucky, Tony was there. Peter would never admit to it, and neither would Tony, but they have grown on each other and their snippy banter became more affectionate and less hostile as time passed

Bruce sighed, his hand running through his hair. It was nice to have Peter working with him, as he was a very, very smart boy, but he remembered his original intentions upon hiring him. Tony did too, as he was constantly asking him to somehow get a sample of Peter's blood. He wanted to check it for any DNA that wasn't human, which was easier said than done.

Not to mention Bruce's guilty conscience. Even if Peter was completely capable of being his intern, more than capable, he was hired purely on his and Tony's -mostly Tony's- curiosity. It went against his morals, but he went along with it, grudgingly, because of Tony. It often seemed that Tony was the only one who wasn't secretly afraid of him, and he treasured their friendship. He didn't want to jeopardize it.

He was shaken by his thoughts by Peter's surprised yell, "Dr. Banner! Norman Osborn died last night!"

"What?" he said more to himself, he wasn't a very loud person. "What happened?" he asked Peter, who was glued to the television.

"His disease…" Peter drifted off. The newscaster continued on about Dr. Osborn's son, Harry Osborn. He had inherited all of Oscorp Industries. "Harry," Peter whispered. Bruce had watched the whole thing, noticing Peter's stunned and saddened state.

"What's wrong Peter?" he questioned gently.

"It's just that, Harry used to be my friend. But his dad shipped him out to boarding school ten years ago with no goodbyes." Peter sighed, "This is the first I've seen of him since then."

"Why don't I give you the day off, then? See if you can go connect to him," Bruce suggested.

"Thanks," Peter said, thinking about doing some Spiderman things as well. It couldn't hurt to use his time wisely. He classified saving people as a wise use of one's time, at least in his book.

Peter debated whether or not he should go by subway (he wasn't about to pay for a cab) like a normal person, or go full on Spiderman just in case he spotted trouble along the way. It was never a bad idea to be prepared, and he wanted to get to Harry quicker. His curiosity was getting the better of him, and the fact that he hadn't seen Harry in many years also played a part.

He decided as he dashed out of Stark Tower, or Avengers', depending on how you look at it, that he was going to travel via spider. Pulling on his suit in a deserted alley, he stored his backpack by webbing it to an uptight and out of sight place, planning on coming back to it later. His phone was shoved into a discreet pocket, though how it remained so camouflaged in a spandex suit was a mystery to all.

He took the skies, observing the city for any immediate danger. Seeing none, he continued on his original course. He'd be lying if he said he wanted to reach Oscorp with as little trouble as possible.

It was just his luck, of course, that a rogue, not so mentally sane man had hijacked one of Oscorp's plutonium transportation trucks. Dropping down on top of the runaway truck, he didn't try to hide his annoyance.

"Seriously dude, I've got better things to be doing!" Peter seethed.

The man laughed manically, "Look everyone! It's the little bug!" he turned on his windshield wipers as if to prove a point.

"Mother of god-" Peter was not in the mood. He grabbed the two cleaners and ripped them clean off the truck, only spurring another round of laughter from the man. Peter looked up, observing his surroundings in careful watch of any oblivious bystanders.

A black man was crossing the street, completely unaware at the truck coming high speed at him. It looked as though he just left Oscorp, which was approaching rapidly, and was holding more than a handful of blueprints. Peter jumped off his current ride in favor of diving into the civilian's side to move him from harm's way.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, helping the man up, mindful of the still pressing situation.

"You- you're Spiderman!" the man exclaimed.

"Yeah, and you're Max," he spoke, reading Max's ID. "Now those look important," he announced, webbing the scattered blueprints and bringing them back with ease.

"You know my name?" Max's eyes widened, flabbergasted.

"It's on your ID," he informed, grabbing it in show. "Now Max, you're my eyes and ears around here. I'm going to take care of the guy, and you keep a watch around here. Can you do that?"

Max nodded, looking overwhelmed.

"See yeah, Max!" he called, his mind already processing the best options for controlling the hijackers, slinging after the less appealing men. He noticed that the back of the heavy duty truck had opened; plutonium bottles almost off their safe shelves. He jumped inside, trying to prevent them from escaping.

"Hey you, and you! Come to papa, nice little guys. Stay with Daddy!" he said aloud as he gathered them with every appendage he owned. He sighed in frustration as one lone capsule rolled away from him. "Damn."

He jumped from the truck, letting the rest of the bottles go. Less than a second later, in a feat that would rival any Olympic gymnast, they were carefully bunched together in a cocoon. He continued his chase after the lone ranger dancing into the street.

"Got you!" he called, as he jumped into the middle of traffic. A blaring horn caught his attention. He turned, muttering an, "Oh crap," before being slammed into by a not so soft truck. He hitched a ride on the front, using his mistake to his advantage. The crazy rage man wasn't far ahead, anyways.

His phone rang, and still holding onto the bottle he pulled it out. "Gwen?"

"Peter, where are you? You're supposed to be here!"

"Be where? Oh shit!" he yelled. "I was going to head over after I told Bruce about graduation! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"

With everything going on in his life, graduation only signified the end of having to make excuses for late homework. Or not, he supposed, with college on the way.

"Peter, are those_, sirens_?" Gwen accused.

"Sirens! Of course not! Why would there be sirens?" he nervously stuttered.

"Peter!" she whisper yelled. "What are you doing? Where are you?"

"First and Broadway, second and Broadway, third and Broadway… You know what, never mind. I'll be there soon!" he hung up, fully prepared to hear about this later from Gwen. He had to finish this quick.

He tensed, jumping to the car in front of him. Then the next, and the next, and the next, until he was back on the stolen vehicle. Cracking his knuckles, and praying the crazy man didn't have his seatbelt on, he leapt into action. Harry would have to wait.

* * *

_"__I know that we all think we're immortal, we're supposed to feel that way; we're graduating. The future is and should be bright, but, like our brief four years in high school, what makes life valuable is that it doesn't last forever, what makes it precious is that it ends. I know that now more than ever. And I say it today of all days to remind us that time is luck. So don't waste it living someone else's life, make yours count for something. Fight for what matters to you, no matter what. Because even if you fall short, what better way is there to live? As we look around here today, at all of the people who helped make us who we are, I know it feels like we're saying goodbye, but we will carry a piece of each other into everything that we do next, to remind us of who we are, and who we're meant to be."_

* * *

"Peter Parker," a silence followed as the soon to be graduate's name was called. "Peter-"

Peter rushed onto the stage, backpack on, but was in the formal attire nonetheless. His diploma was handed over, and he grinned. After four years, _finally_. Gwen reached to shake his hand, as she had done to all the other students due to her being valedictorian. She was startled as Peter pulled her in for something much better than a handshake.

There were whoops and hollers as Peter kissed Gwen, and he could only imagine his Aunt's face, but he didn't care. As he pulled back, he grinned at her before leaving the stage, heading to his designated seat.

The rest of the names called past in a blur, but despite his giddiness at graduating, Harry was one constant in his thoughts. He felt guilty, but decided on going to visit before having dinner with Gwen's family that night.

After the ceremony, he went off to find his Aunt.

"Peter!" he heard her call. Peter turned into his Aunt's arms as they embraced him. "I wish your Uncle were here to see you. He'd be so proud."

"Me too Aunt May." He replied, students swarming around and a cacophony of congratulations twisted into a constant buzz of noise with his enhanced senses.

"And I'm proud too," she said pulling back. "More than you could ever imagine."

"Thanks Aunt May," he said, craning his neck to find Gwen.

"Can't wait to get rid of your Aunt, huh?" Aunt May's tone was light, teasing, and full of love.

"What? No, of course not," he blushed, having been caught in the act.

Aunt May laughed, "Go find her Peter." She gave him a light shove, watching as her baby boy walked away.

* * *

"Harry," Peter called to the figure at the top of the grand set of stairs. He waited, more nervous than before. It had taken some convincing for the guards to let him into this point, and he was more than afraid that Harry would blow him off.

"If it isn't Peter Parker," was the reply. It wasn't cold necessarily, but neither was it welcoming.

"I'm sorry about your dad, Harry." Peter sounded sincere, even if Harry didn't want to see him. He understood the pain of losing parents, more than once over.

"Thanks, and I heard about your uncle. I'm sorry too."

That meant a lot to him.

"It's not your fault," the guilt of his Uncle's death gnawed away at him. After a few moments of silence, Peter saw Harry moving down the steps. When he reached a mere two steps away, Harry spoke again.

"I've missed you, geek," the friendly teasing world caused him to let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

Peter laughed. "Shut up you idiot," he could feel the ice melting. Ten years of separation and they were still best friends. They would always be best friends. Sometimes people just worked like that. "I missed you too."

* * *

**In the upcoming chapter I'm going to clear up any confusion about why Peter was working on graduation day. This definitely wasn't my best chapter, I was in a rush. **


End file.
